


The Only Light We'll See

by alleycat35



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Falling In Love, Friendship/Love, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Past Abuse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-14
Updated: 2017-08-14
Packaged: 2018-12-15 07:53:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,537
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11801712
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alleycat35/pseuds/alleycat35
Summary: Liam finds a drunk and defeated stranger at the bar and wishes he could help.





	The Only Light We'll See

**Author's Note:**

> I posted and deleted this a long time ago but may actually continue it this time.

The moment that Liam stepped out of the classroom, he heaved a tremendous sigh. The history exam had not been as difficult as he had anticipated, but nonetheless, holding a three-hour exam on a Friday night should be illegal.

He glanced down at his watch. Nine forty-five. He had finished with fifteen minutes to spare, but he felt as though he had spent an eternity and a half in that room. Though his nerves were sufficiently fried, a weary smile formed on his face as he welcomed the realization that he had defeated his last exam and was free to enjoy the Christmas break as he pleased.

He quickly zipped up his jacket before ducking out of the nearest exit and into the frigid December air. As he made his way up the sidewalk to the closest bus stop, he glanced up ahead, squinting to see past the gently swirling flurries of snow. The downtown lights twinkled invitingly in the distance as though luring Liam in the direction of the holiday spirit. As tempting as it all seemed, he was quite certain that he didn’t have the energy to brave the club scene on this particular night. Besides, he had more than enough reason to believe that Zayn would be dragging him downtown as soon as he returned from Bradford. (The lucky bastard had finished his exams two days prior and had headed home to visit his family for the rest of the week.)

Liam’s eyes drifted across the street to the little university pub. At the very least, he could stop in for a pint to celebrate. He had earned it.

Blowing into his hands and rubbing them together to warm them up, he jogged across the street and peered in through the windows. Since most of the university students had already headed home for the holidays, the bar’s crowd was unusually small for a Friday night, making it the ideal place to unwind after a particularly taxing exam. Liam pulled the door open, relishing the rush of warm air that followed, and strolled into the pub, hopping up onto one of the barstools.

The bartender flipped a coaster in front of him. “What’ll it be?” he asked.

Liam eyed the row of taps in front of him, pretending that he knew the difference between the brands featured upon them. “You know what, surprise me,” he said confidently as he shrugged off his backpack. Admittedly, he was rather relieved when the bartender began pouring him a light ale that didn’t look particularly aggressive.

“Cheers,” he said, flipping the money onto the counter. As he raised the glass to his lips, he glanced absentmindedly to the right, just now noticing that he was not alone at the bar. At the other end of the counter, just three stools away, sat a mop-topped boy with his head lowered and his hands buried in his hair. Liam didn’t have to see his face to know that the poor lad was coming to the end of a rough day.

The bartender strode over to the other boy and picked up the empty shot glass in front of him, swiftly replacing it with a tall glass of water. “I think that’ll do it for tonight, yeah?” he said, raising an eyebrow.

The stranger slowly lifted his head, not quite able to open his weary eyes. “S’pose so,” he said dimly, reaching into his back pocket for his wallet. He fumbled with it for half a minute before finally unearthing his credit card and tossing it onto the counter, then resting his head back down on his folded arms.

“Need me to call you a cab?” the bartender asked, retrieving the card and turning toward the cash register.

“No, s’fine,” the boy replied. “Waiting for summ’n…”

Liam didn’t mean to stare, but he ached with sympathy and curiosity for the lonesome stranger. As hard as he tried, he couldn’t tear his eyes away, feeling inexplicably compelled to know his story. Nonetheless, he kept to his own beer and minded his business.

Liam wouldn’t have noticed the tall man approaching the bar had it not been for the shadow he cast over the sad stranger’s small frame. He glanced up in time to see the scruffy-faced bloke resting a hand on the (presumably) younger boy’s back. “Hey,” he said with a crooked smile. “Buy you a drink?”

“N’thanks,” the boy mumbled against his arm. “M’cut off.”

“Well, I’m not,” the new arrival replied in a low voice after glancing up to verify that the bartender’s back was still turned. “I’ll take care of you, lad. What do you take?”

The bartender turned around calmly, handing the boy’s credit card back to him. “He’s doing just fine,” he said in a firm voice, confirming he had far better ears than the man had expected.

“I’ll take a double rye in ginger, please. Tall,” the man replied, undaunted. Turning back to the moping youngster and claiming the seat to his right, the man smiled. “What’s got you down, love? Rough day?”

“Could say that,” the boy muttered dismissively, lifting his head to take a sip of his water.

“Poor lad,” the persistent stranger said, running his hand slowly up and down the boy’s back.

The brown-haired boy shrugged, rubbing a hand across his eyes.

Wordlessly, the bartender placed the drink on the counter in front of the strange man and accepted the ten-pound note that was handed to him, not bothering to offer the man his change.

When the bartender was once again turned back toward the register, the man slid the drink in front of his unfortunate neighbour. “All yours, lad.”

“Hey,” Liam heard himself saying, “he said he’s had enough.”

The man looked up, blinking innocently at Liam. “He’s having a hard time,” he lamented. “Won’t you just let him be?”

“Won’t you?” Liam shot back.

The bleary-eyed boy straightened up in his chair. “I should go…” he said quietly, knocking over the glass of water as he reached for the credit card on the counter in front of him.

He blinked down at the growing puddle of water, failing to react for a several seconds. “Shit…” he muttered. “Shit... m’so sorry…”

“No worries, lad,” the bartender said, hurrying over with a rag. “You sure I can”t call you a taxi?”

The tall man’s eyes brightened at that. “You need a lift?” he asked. “I’ll take you home.”

The boy slid forward on his chair, lowering his feet until they touched the ground.

“Nothankyou,” he said hurriedly, keeping a hand flat against the bar for support as he swayed dangerously far to his left. “Just gonna g…”

Liam was on his feet in an instant, catching the boy around the middle before his legs gave out completely. “You’re all right,” he said quietly, helping him regain his footing. “You’re all right…”  
  
The impatient man, who had quickly become Liam’s least favourite person in the world, slipped his hand under Louis’ arm. “I’ve got him, thank you,” he insisted. “I’ll look after him.”  
  
“He’s fine,” Liam said quickly, his eyes wide and cheeks flushed. “His ride’s on the way, they’ll be soon... no, he can’t go with you, they’ll be looking for him. They’ll be here soon.”  
  
The other man tugged at the younger’s arm stubbornly. “Stop worrying about it, I’ve…”  
  
“All right,” the bartender said firmly. “That’s quite enough. You’re free to go,” he added, nodding curtly toward the tireless twat.

The man blinked back stupidly at the bartender before finally rescinding his grip on the poor boy’s arm. Shaking his head in disbelief, he turned on his heel, muttering to himself as he made his highly anticipated exit.

“Thank you,” Liam breathed, smiling gratefully at the bartender. “Thank you so much. D’you... would you mind calling that taxi anyway?”

The bartender smiled back. “Already did, about ten minutes ago,” he said, gesturing toward the front window.  
Liam turned to look outside. Sure enough, there was a cab waiting out front.

He looked down at the young boy cowering in his arms, almost alarmed by how small he suddenly seemed. “Are you okay?” he asked, surprised by the tremor in his own voice.

The boy nodded, trying in vain to straighten up. “Think so..." he said timidly. “I... I don’t, umm... thank you.”

“Anytime,” Liam said dazedly. “I... what’s your name, mate?”  
  
“Louis,” the former stranger replied, grabbing onto Liam’s forearms in an attempt to steady himself.

“Louis,” Liam repeated faintly. “Well, Louis, what do you say we get you out of here?”

Louis lifted his eyes, catching Liam off-guard with their striking cerulean hue, then turned his head to glance around the bar. The sudden movement caused the dizziness to take over, but Liam had his arms around Louis once again, keeping him on his feet.

Resting his forehead against Liam’s shoulder, Louis sighed. “Dunno where I am, now,” he said softly.

“All right,” Liam said, retrieving his backpack with one hand and supporting Louis with the other. “Let’s get you home.”

“Home…” Louis echoed. “Shouldn... shouldn’t go home.”  
  
“Going to have to disagree with you on that one, mate,” he said, keeping one arm wrapped around Louis’ waist as they made their way out the door and onto the sidewalk. He felt Louis beginning to shiver immediately under the blanket of cold, night air and instinctively pulled him closer. He quickly began to question his own response until he looked down to find Louis’ hand gripping the fabric of his jacket. Shaking himself back to his senses, he raised his hand in a signal to the taxi driver before leading Louis over to the door and helping him into the backseat. He hesitated momentarily before sliding in next to him, knowing full well that he wouldn’t be able to sleep without knowing for certain whether or not Louis made it home safely.

“Where are we headed?” the driver asked.

Liam turned to his drunken companion. “What’s your address, Louis?” he asked.

Louis shook his head, apparently regretting the action immediately. “Doesn’t matter,” he groaned, cradling his aching head in his hands.

Liam slipped a comforting arm over Louis’ shoulders. “Come on, lad,” he said. “You’ve got to help me out. We can get you home. I just need to know where your home i…”

“No,” Louis moaned. “Can’t go home. Not now, not ever, not…”  
  
“Okay, okay,” Liam said soothingly, giving Louis’ arm a squeeze. “Not home. Got it. We’re not taking you home.”

Louis nodded, not lifting his head from his hands.

“So…” Liam nudged. “Where exactly are you staying tonight?”  
  
There was a heavy pause. Louis’ hands dropped to his sides as he slowly raised his head, leaning back against the headrest.

“Well…” he said uncomfortably, mustering a sheepish smile. “You’d think... you’d think I’dve thought of that beforehand, wouldn’t you?”  
  
Liam bit his lip. This was becoming a tad bit more complicated than he had anticipated. The taxi driver was waiting patiently for an address. Not knowing what else to do, Liam provided his own.  
Louis didn’t seem to be questioning where they were going, but he had a least one logical inquiry on his mind.

“What’s your name?” he asked drowsily.

“Liam,” he responded. “Liam Payne.”  
  
Louis smiled, this time looking genuinely relaxed and pleased. “Liam,” he murmured. “S’a nice name.” He leaned into Liam’s side, resting his head on Liam’s right shoulder.

Not really sure what else to do with himself, and still mildly baffled by the situation that he had wound up in, Liam caught himself staring at Louis once again. The boy had remarkably long eyelashes, and it was impossible not to be mesmerized by the shadows they formed on his cheeks under the passing streetlights. After a few minutes passed, Liam forced himself to tear his eyes away for the sole purpose of keeping an eye out for his house.

"That's it, just on the left there," he said when it finally came into view. "Thank you."

Louis lifted his head sleepily. "L'pay thefare... I'll pay for... where's m'wallet..."

"I've got it, mate, don't worry," Liam said, pulling some cash from his pocket and thanking the driver as he handed it over. "Come on," he said, pulling Louis' arm over his shoulder and carefully helping him out of the car. Louis gripped Liam's jacket with both hands as he staggered to his feet. Liam closed the door behind him and waved goodbye to the driver, then began leading Louis toward the door.

Louis froze suddenly, tightening his grip on Liam. "I..."

Liam stopped walking, looking Louis up and down with concern. "Are you..."

Louis shook his head suddenly, turning loose of Liam and covering his mouth with his hand. "I... no, I... I'm gonna be..."

Liam held onto Louis' shoulders as he fell to his knees and vomited upon the front lawn.

"S-sorry..." Louis gasped afterward, his cheeks visibly red in the moonlight.

"All good, mate," Liam said, rubbing Louis' shoulders gently as the coughing fit subsided. "Better here than inside."

"Y-yeah," Louis said shakily, regaining his breath before hesitantly rising to his feet. "Where... where are we anyway?"

"My house," Liam said. "Well, mine and my roommate's house, but he's not here right now, and... well, that doesn't matter, now, does it? My house... we're at my house..." he trailed off as he retrieved his keys from his coat pocket and slipped his arm around Louis once again. "You all right to come in?"

Louis nodded, leaning heavily into Liam as they made their way through the door.

Liam reached around Louis to flip on the light switch, then carefully led him over to the couch at the other end of the living room.

"Have a seat," Liam said, helping Louis lower himself to a sitting position.

As soon as Louis hit the couch, he flopped down onto his side, likely asleep long before his head hit the cushions. Liam chuckled lightly to himself as he gingerly removed the boy's shoes and placed them on the floor in front of the couch. He slipped out of the room in search of a blanket, water bottle, and wastebasket, returning once he had retrieved all three. He placed the wastebasket on the ground next to the couch and set the water bottle down on the coffee table, then carefully draped the soft, white comforter over Louis' sleeping form.

He stepped back to survey the situation, wondering what more he could do for his unexpected house guest. He hadn't really thought about what he would do past this point, nor did he know precisely what he would say to Louis in the morning. His eyes came to rest upon Louis' rising and falling chest. The dejected young man seemed to be sleeping rather peacefully in spite of himself. Liam supposed that given the circumstances, that was really all he could ask for.

After one final reassuring glance around the room, Liam turned to head up to his room. He paused at the bottom of the stairs as he reached for the light switch, looking over his shoulder to steal one last glimpse of Louis' peaceful expression.

"Night, Louis," he whispered, turning off the light.


End file.
